No cause to halt Common Core in N.J.: Editorial

A critical part of being a great leader, however, is regularly seeking ways to do better, and this is exactly what we did, when New Jersey adopted the Common Core State Standards, former Gov. Tom Kean says. Star-Ledger File Photo

Wisely, Gov. Chris Christie has tamped down the flames surrounding the Common Core state standards for public schools. In response to legislation calling for a two-year delay in implementing the standards as well as in their impact on teacher evaluation, Christie created a task force to evaluate all student testing, not just the standardized tests linked to Common Core. But he did not delay the process.

Designed to provide some consistency among differing requirements across 50 states, Common Core is a set of benchmarks for what students should know at each grade level in order to be well prepared for college and careers.

Up to 70 percent of New Jersey community college students now lack the basic academic skills needed to succeed in college. At taxpayer expense, they are forced to enroll in no-credit remedial courses. Further, employers nationwide complain that high school graduates are unprepared for entry level jobs. Still, Common Core has become a target of tea-party activists and other conservatives who deplore any attempt to set nationwide standards.

In New Jersey, the Department of Education adopted a timeline to integrate Common Core components over five years starting in 2010. This gradual approach allows time for teachers and administrators to access the available resources and ease the transition. Testing is scheduled to begin in spring 2015.

Former Gov. Tom Kean, a strong supporter of Common Core, maintains that the curriculum creates "clear and consistent expectations" of what students should learn each year. "The benchmarks are designed so that as a child progresses from kindergarten through 12th grade, she will gradually acquire new skills that build upon existing ones. There will be more of a seamless transition between grade levels," says Kean, "regardless of whether a child moves to another school district or who his teacher is."

Essentially, Common Core requirements ensure basic competency for every American child. It's good to study the process, but there's no need to suspend it.